About 774 people spent last night in the shelters, according to the city. One of the shelters is at The Dennis R. Timbrell Community Centre, at Eglinton and Don Mills. The centre has opened up its auditorium to the public.

On Tuesday, beds were set up in rows and some snacks, juice and coffee were available, along with Red Cross volunteers. Families had come with their kids to seek shelter from the cold.

The Wu family had gone to the shelter after losing power two days ago. They said they hoped they would not have to spend Christmas in the shelter.

“We are checking but we don’t have power back yet,” said Calvin Wu, adding that it has been fairly comfortable in the warming centre.

Volunteers provided meals at the centre. There was lasagna and soup for dinner last night, and toast, sandwiches and yogurt for breakfast this morning.

According to one man who had spent the night, other warming centres had filled up and ran out of beds, but still had chairs and food. The Dennis R. Timbrell centre had about 100 beds, and was almost full – volunteers were adding more foldable beds on Tuesday afternoon.

A woman at the centre had spent the night shivering in her powerless home, and decided to come to the shelter in the morning. She said several trees had fallen in her neighbourhood, including one on her neighbour’s car.

Meanwhile, the Toronto Public Library branch in the facility was packed with kids whiling away time playing games at the computers, while people with laptops took advantage of the wireless internet.

For others without power in the city, it’s a great excuse for some alone time.

Writer Sue Maynard says for her, Christmas in the dark means “candles with my cats.” She’s charging her e-reader at work right now for some entertainment later on, and hopefully light. Maynard posted a picture of her hallway at home this morning — a black square with a minuscule dot of light in the centre.

Maynard’s home just off Yonge north of Eglinton has been in the dark since about 7 p.m. Sunday. She says it’s strange seeing lights on Yonge so close, but having no power herself.

“It’s like two different worlds,” she said

She says that usually she works a lot of the holidays, so Christmas itself is usually just a day off. This year, she’s going to try to stay warm and conserve her cell phone battery. “And force my cats to snuggle with me” she said, “because they can be like little heaters.”

“Oh, and I’ll probably have a drink or two,” she said. “Strictly to keep me warm, of course”

“I feel kind of ridiculous, because I’ve had offers of places to crash if need be” said Maynard, “but I’m still being stubborn.” Maynard says she wants to stay home because that’s where she goes “to escape the world” and says she feels “this crazy need to protect [her] space,” and her cats, of course.

Though things may not be ideal for the holidays, Maynard is confident the outcome will be positive in the end.

“I feel like I want to be there to look after it all, and that if I can just get us through this massive hurdle, I’ll appreciate it all even more,” said Maynard.

Nathalin Moy, an engineering science student at the University of Toronto, says she’s been fine in the university’s residence, but her parents have left their home at Leslie and Sheppard in favour of a hotel.

“I honestly don’t know what we’re doing tonight” she said, “We’re expecting relatives from Ottawa but we clearly have nowhere to house them.”

Moy said this morning she’s still not sure what their plan is, but says as far as she knows her relatives are still planning to come in.

Toronto crews are still working around the clock, but Mayor Rob Ford said Tuesday that getting all the power back by Christmas day is “not going to happen.”

Until the lights come back on, those without power will be celebrating in the dark, or trusting their friends in the city to have some Christmas spirit and share the warmth and light.